Russia's Economic Development Minister Elvira Nabiullina said Monday (Oct 17) that the Ministry supports the idea of introducing a floating duty on grain exports.

The issue is currently being discussed, but no decisions have been made Nabiullina said.

Earlier in October, First Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov said that the Russian government planned to set a prohibitively high export duty should grain exports exceed 24 million tonnes in the current agricultural year, which ends on June 30, 2012. This duty is likely to be floating, he also said, adding that the issue had already been agreed on with all the necessary government institutions.

The move is directed at stabilizing grain prices on the domestic market, Zubkov said, adding that a corresponding document was to be submitted to the Russian government for consideration by November 1.

As of October 11, Russia has exported 11 million tonnes of grain since July 1, when a ban introduced by the government on grain exports was lifted. Should export rates remain at this level, Russia's grain exports may total 18-19 million tonnes by the end of 2011, Zubkov said then.